I have observed over the years that when patients are in chronic pain for a long time and seek help repeatedly from their medical provider, eventually, they will be diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Providers often diagnose patients with fibromyalgia as a way to encourage the patient to stop seeking care. The reality is that most of the time the provider does not have an adequate answer as to why a person has pain nor do they have any way to help. They label it, generically, as fibromyalgia. I empathize with these patients and their providers.
Fibromyalgia, one can argue, is not really a diagnosis but a description of symptoms. Etymologically, it means pain in the fibrous and muscle tissues. Most providers act like there is no real cause. Many providers assume the patient is either a symptom magnifier seeking for drugs or just emotionally unstable. In my experience, more often than not, the real issue is chronic pain and can be traced back to a source with enough work. Finding the right professional to diagnose and then to treat can be daunting, however.
The causes and treatments for chronic pain are vast. Hope can be easy to sell but is often difficult to deliver. Possible causes can be osteoarthritis (wear and tear due to time or injury), auto-immune arthritis, chronic subluxations or joint dysfunction, poor posture, stress, muscle knots, referred pain from internal organs, hormone imbalances, etc., or a combination of all of the above. When I treat someone with chronic pain, I am not always successful. Sometimes, when I am successful, it may not be long-lasting. Most people I can ease some of their discomforts, at worst, or help them heal altogether. Patience and paying attention to subtle changes is the key to figuring out what is causing the pain.
It can be daunting to figure out a path to improvement. Chiropractic is a great place to start. If improving joint function and nerve flow helps, then keep going. If the help is only very temporary, like less than a couple of days relief after months of care, then you may need to add massage or some other muscle or fascia work. After that, you will need to explore various internal issues. I would refer you to a good Naturopath or Functional Medical Specialist. Now you have to consider internal organ dysfunction. Gut issues are the most common. In addition, assessing hormone function is very important. Finally, do not rule out the psycho-somatic component. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) can make it so that healed physical pain lingers. The pain is no less real but one must manage their emotional issues before complete recovery is achieved. Temporal care along the way is still beneficial.
If you are suffering from chronic pain or have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, don’t be afraid to try a host of treatments. Start conservatively and work from there. Be wary of embellished claims of immediate or permanent relief but, also, don’t lose hope. At the very least, I am positive there is someone who can, at least, help you manage your pain.
First, let us define what sciatica actually is and is not. Sciatica is, very specifically, pain along the sciatic nerve stemming from irritation of that nerve. The sciatic nerve is formed from a conglomeration of spinal nerves in the low back which binds together into one sheath. This nerve runs under the piriformis muscle in the pelvic area, then runs in between the two parts of the biceps femoris, also known as the hamstrings. It has become common to call any pain in the leg which is suspected to come from the back, sciatica. However, sciatica is a nerve pain which is the same feeling you get when you hit your “funny bone.” Most leg pain, and consequently what most people call sciatica, is actually referred pain. That is a different post. To be a true diagnosis of sciatica, it must be nerve pain that stems from the lumbar spine and runs into the buttock and/or down the backside and middle of the thigh. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about what causes it!
Rib pain can be miserable. I cannot tell you how many patients have come in to see me after visiting the Emergency Department because they suspected a heart attack or something serious. Pain in the chest, shortness of breath, radiating pain down the arm, nausea, etc. Sounds like a heart attack but all of the tests are negative. So what do you when the emergency docs send you home and tell you it is nothing? Most likely you are dealing with a rib that is either stuck or not moving in the way it is supposed to. Here are five things to do, and not to do, to help.
